Railway construction



(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 2.

W. G. CURTIS.

RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION.

No. 592,218. Patented 001.. 19,1897.

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A TTUHNEYJ NlTnD STATES PATENT Triton.

RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION.

, SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 592,218, datedOctober 19, 1897.

Application filed April 1, 1897. Serial No. 630,820. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern-.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM G. CURTIS, a

citizen of the United States, residing at San' Francisco, in the countyof San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Railway Construction; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and eXact description of saidinvention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it mostnearly appertains to make, use, and practice the same.

This invention relates to improvements in railway construction, and moreparticularly to the splice-plates for joining the ends of the rai s.

The objects which this invention has in view are, rst, to produce aconstruction in which the rail is reinforced and in which thereinforcing member is held rigidly against the under side of the head ofthe rail and against the under side of the flange or base of the same,and, second, to provide a construction whereby the reinforcing member ismaintained in its rigid position against the traffic strain. Y

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a rail-j oint, thesame being formedwith splice-plates constructed inconformity with thisinvention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of' the same looking from underneaththe rail. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a rail and the spliceplates,taken on the line X X in Fig. 2. 4. is a diagrammatic view of arail-joint as constructed with the old fish-plates, the form in whichthe parts are shown being an exaggeration for the purpose ofillustration.

Heretofore the splice-plate which has been substituted for and developedfrom the old fish-plate has consisted in the throwing out of a sideflange from uthe bottom of the lishplate to overhang the upper part ofthe flange or base of' the rail. This construction was provided to avoidthe bend by increasing the depth of the fish-plate; but asthis form ofconnection has but one upwardly-resisting bearing-surface to eachplate-to wit, that under the head of the rail-it soon becomes loosenedby wear and ceases to be effective. Thisl latter construction has beensupplemented bya construction known as the continuous-angle plate, whichconsists of the Fig. A

y old fish-'plate having a continuation of the vside flange set out fromthe bottom thereof to extend over the topgand underV the bottom 'of theflange or base of the rails, the bottom section or continuation beingthought to reinforce the resistancev tothe vertical traffic strain. Thislatter construction has proved to be a great advantage over boththosepreceding,` but it has b'eenrfou'ndthat the bottomV sectioneXtended below the "base of the rail is too eXible to enable it toassist the upper upwardly-resisting bearing-surface, and that this formof plate wears and becomes loosened in the same manner as above setforth. v

It is the purpose of' the present invention toproduce a constructionwhich embodies the benefits derived from what has been styled thecontinuous-angle plate, with those of the last type wherein have beenprovided the vertical eXtcnsion below the flange of the rail. Thisconstruction consists in the vertical plate A, the continuous extensionof the same, B, and the downset portion of the latter C. The verticalplate A is practically of the same construction as thatnow in use,having the shoulders A' and A2 adapted and shaped to bear tightly underthe head and over the flange or base of the rail with a hollowedoutmiddle portion A3. The extension B differs from the continuous style inthat in its present construction these extensions are brought to a veryclose approximation at their meeting edges under the flange or base ofthe rail, with the purpose of permitting as wide t an extension of thisfeature of the angle-plate -under'the flange of the rails as possible,and at the same time providing thereby more material wherewith to formthe downset portion C. The downset portion C is swaged or struck downfrom the extension B directly beneath the joint of the meeting rails.

In drawing or swaging downward the portion C the metal of the extensionB is slightly stretched, and there is produced between the level part ofthe extension B and the vertical portion C the intermediate metalD,fwhich is caused to assume the shape shown in the drawings. Thisinterposed metal D corrects all tendency which the vertical portion Cmight Aotherwise have toward lateral movement in avoiding verticalstrains. By so con- IOO structing the downward-extended portion C theunsupported lower portion of this plate between the adjacent tiesbecomes in effect a girder and the adjacent sufaees are held irmlyagainst the under side of the base of the rail, giving for each platetwo effective upwardly-resisting bearing-surfaces-viz., at e and atZJ--thereby greatly decreasing the rate of wear, thus prolonging theuseful service of the joint.

In making the bend in the extension B, inside which the side of theiiange is to iit, it may be bent a little more acutely within the anglethan the flange, so as to necessitate the forcing of the thickest partof the flange next to the web of the rail between the wings of the bentextension. It is by this means that a rigid contact may be obtained bythe extension B against the under face of the iiange of the rail; butthis is not essential, provided a good iit may be obtained without sobending. The means forsecurin g the ends of the rail within the grasp ofthese angleplates is the same as that commonly in use, consisting in thebolts E E, passed through the angle-plate and web of the rail on eitherside of the joint thereof.'

IIaving thus described this invention, what is claimed is- A splice forthe joints of rails consisting of vertical plates adapted to bearagainst the under side of the head of the rail and having continuousextensions around and under the iiange or base of the rail to near themiddle thereof, the said extensions having the center portion struckdown and out from the inner edge to a line between the inner and theouter ledge to form a vertical reinforcement to bear against the underside of the base of the rail, and held in position by the stretchedportions of the metal connecting the reinforcing with the horizontalportion, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 19th day of March,1897.

IVILLIAM G. CURTIS.

Witnesses:

' EALDWIN VALE, NORMAN MCKELLAR.

